Reservations

Absolutely not for Scotland (and I assume the same for England). The days of 'vacancies' signs outside B&Bs are long gone. Here in Scotland small B&B accommodation is on the decrease as many very small operators (often only open in summer) have decided to shut their businesses rather than apply for the new Short Term Let Licence required by the government. As a result availability is in short supply and prices are on the rise. If you do want flexibility you could book hotels with flexible policies (i.e. reservations that can be cancelled within 24 hours of the stay) but you will pay more for that than a fixed and pre paid reservation.

It is probably possible to do without reservations in the bigger tourist locations in England but you will be very much looking for what’s left after the best and best value places will be full. And do you want to spend a significant part of your holiday time looking for places every day? If you’re going to more rural areas then it’s even more imperative that you have a fixed plan.

We stopped traveling without reservations years ago. We had too many close calls where we almost didn’t get a room, and we generally travel in May or September. Even making reservations 5 months out we can’t always get our first choice lodging.

If you were traveling late October through March it would be easier to get a hotel room, but many B&B and smaller hotels shut down off season, especially in small towns or very rural areas.

When was the last time you did this in Europe / abroad?

For me, it was about 25 to 30 years ago. With the internet, and email, booking reservations became a necessity for travel, not just abroad, but in the US, too.

Thank you all for your input. We have never traveled in Europe, so we are looking for the best way to do that. We do frequently travel without reservations in the U.S. and joke that we have never had to sleep in the car yet, though we haven't always had the nicest accommodations!

Sue, I empathize. When I first started traveling back in the 90s, I would book the first night and after that it was a free-for-all. But those days are long gone. The crowds in Europe now mandate booking ahead if you want to find anything decent.

England and Scotland are two of my favorite countries, though, and I can guarantee that you will have a wonderful time there. If you’d like to give us some of your destinations that you are interested in, we would be happy to help you with accommodations that we like, and any other questions you have.